TEHRAN - The Assembly of Experts says the Iranian nation’s resistance will remain unaffected, no matter whether the U.S. rejoins 2015 nuclear agreement or not.

2015 nuclear deal is the common name for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which wad ditched by former U.S. president Donald Trump in line with his policy of “maximum pressure” against the Islamic Republic.

The Assembly of Experts, a panel of clerics tasked to elect and supervise leader of the Islamic Revolution, also emphasized that Iran’s defense and missile capabilities will never be subject to negotiations.

At the Monday meeting, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati was reelected as the chairman of the body. Members of the assembly also re-elected Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani as the first deputy and Ebrahim Raisi, who is also the head of the Judiciary, as the second deputy of the assembly.
Speaking at the event, Ayatollah Jannati paid homage to Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated during a U.S. strike in Iraq on January 3, 2020, directly ordered by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
“May God damn Trump and America and those who played a role in the assassination of this beloved man and made a nation suffer his loss,” he said, according to Press TV.
 
In a statement at the conclusion of its eighth annual meeting, the 88-member body also described renegotiations with the U.S. on what has already been agreed upon as a “red line”, stressing that all Iranian organizations stand united in safeguarding the country’s dignity and independence against hostile plots.

Highlighting the failure of the U.S. policy of cruel sanctions and maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic, the assembly noted the U.S. return to the JCPOA without a practical lifting of the anti-Iran sanctions as not only lacking any benefits, but being detrimental too.

The statement also called on people to attend the upcoming presidential elections in June, hailing the polls as an arena for maximum participation of people in political and social decisions.

The June 18 presidential election will be held simultaneously with council and midterm parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections.